Clive Cussler - Wrath of Poseidon

She nodded.

He handed it back to her. “Would you mind translating it?”

Zoe turned to the first page, narrating the story of two boys, Agathos and Xanthos, who set sail in a small boat, their goal to beg the god Poseidon for the return of their father. Unfortunately, before they could whisper into his ear, they were captured by Samian pirates. They escaped when the angry god shook the earth, destroying the island, and killing the pirates. The final illustration was of the two boys in their small boat, the rays of the setting sun shooting up behind them. Zoe closed the book, setting it on the table. “Of course, the moral of the story is that the boys didn’t get what they wanted, but got what they needed.”

“Don’t forget,” Dimitris said, “that there’s the unwritten version. The cave contained the bones of the boys, and that’s how anyone would know it was the right location.”

“Regardless, everyone—my grandfather included—knows the cave up on Vardia is not where Poseidon’s Trident is. Besides, you heard the chief. Those were goat bones. So, no, no treasure there.”

“And yet,” Sam said. “We have a picture your grandfather drew. Which has to mean something.”

Everyone turned to the sketch in the back of Zoe’s book as Skavos walked out with their drinks. He eyed the sketch with its round, angry face framed in wavy lines, and said, “That looks like Helios.”

“Helios?” Sam said.

“Ancient Greek god of the sun,” he said, placing their drinks on the table. “Those could be sun rays.”

“Why’s he so angry?” Sam asked.

Skavos placed a napkin on the table, setting Sam’s beer on top of it. “If you had that thing growing out of the top of your head, you’d be angry, too.”

Something about the sketch caught Dimitris’s attention. He looked over at Remi. “Do you know what that reminds me of? The Vardia carving. We were looking at it the morning that . . .” He let the words hang as though worried how Zoe might take it. That was, after all, the same morning her grandfather had been killed.

“But that didn’t have a face,” Remi said. “The carving you showed me looks more like a wreath.”

“Think about how many centuries it’s been up there,” Dimitris said. “Maybe the face wore off.”

Zoe reached out, putting her hand on Dimitris’s arm. “You know where I have seen a face that looks like this? On Thimena. It’s carved on a rock overlooking Agios Nikolaos. I know for a fact that there’s a cave very near it. I remember finding it one summer when we stayed at one of the fishing cottages.”

“Maybe Manos will lend us his boat,” Dimitris said. “We could go look for it tomorrow.”

Zoe clasped her hands together. “Think how exciting that will be. To finally find Poseidon’s Trident.” She glanced at Sam and Remi. “You’ll come with us, of course?”

Remi nodded, then turned toward Sam. “I’d definitely like to go.”

Seeing the way Remi’s eyes lit up at the prospect, he smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

The next morning, Sam and Remi met Zoe, Dimitris, and Nikos at the port. Manos had lent them the Lazy Krab , a RIB boat similar in size to the Star Catcher , since it would be far easier to navigate close to shore and in some of the smaller inlets than the much larger Asteri .

Dimitris lowered a bag with climbing gear to his father. “Has anyone given any thought to the cave in Thief’s Bay just past Skull Rock?” he said. “If you’re going to hide treasure, that’d be the place to do it. We’re going right past there.”

“It’s not near big enough,” Zoe said. “The cave I’m thinking of is on the north side of the island. Whether or not it’s the cave . . .” She shrugged. “I think I was ten the last time my grandfather took me there. But I definitely remember the carving of the sun face on the rock near Agios Nikolaos.”

The wind gusted and Nikos looked up, seeing a few clouds, but otherwise blue sky above. Unfortunately, with another storm expected that evening, the last place they wanted to be when it hit was on the north side of Thimena. “The less time we spend here talking about it, the more time we’ll have to look.”

Sam eyed the restless water as he helped Remi into the boat. “You’re sure we’ll be able to get there and back before the weather turns?”

“We should,” Nikos said, handing out ziplock bags to everyone on board for their phones. “It won’t take us long to get there. Assuming Zoe can find the cave, we should be back well before the rain starts.”

“Let’s get going.”

The boat cut through the water with ease, up until the point they entered the channel that separated Thimena from Fourni. Nikos slowed, telling them, “Hold on. It can get bumpy here.”

Dimitris grinned at Remi, who braced herself with each bounce. “This is nothing,” he said. “You should see it when it really storms.”

“I’ll pass,” she said.

Sam was glad to see her laughing. It seemed her time with Denéa had done a world of good. Thankfully, the water calmed once they were through the narrow channel and rounded the south of the island, past Skull Rock and Thief’s Bay. The rest of the trip was unremarkable, and fifteen minutes later, they were navigating around the north of the island toward the small cement dock in Agios Nikolaos. Other than the blue-domed church overlooking the water, and a few cottages used by the fishermen in the summer, that side of the island was mostly a barren, uninhabited stretch of rocks, low shrubs, and dry grass.

The five of them disembarked, then followed Zoe past the church, picking their way up the hill along a path of limestone rocks jutting out between tufts of dried grass. Goat bells jangled in the distance. Sam looked up, seeing a small herd at the top of the hill. The animals watched warily, then ran off as they neared. At the crest, Zoe stopped to take stock of her surroundings.

“Anything look familiar?” Dimitris asked her.

“Give me a moment to get my bearings.”

Sam moved next to Nikos, noticing his attention on the Lazy Krab moored far below them. The small boat swept back and forth in the restless waters. Beyond it, the whitecaps rippled across the Aegean, and, to the north, a dark band of clouds hovered low on the horizon.

“This way,” Zoe said. “I think we’re getting close.”

“You’re sure?” Dimitris asked.

“Positive. It was just on the other side of this ridge.” She turned her back to the wind, her dark hair blowing about her face. “Definitely to the south.”

Fifteen minutes later, that dark stretch of clouds was almost overhead. Scattered raindrops fell as they followed Zoe farther along the ridge. Nikos looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowing at the roiling clouds. “It might be best if we left now. The wind seems to be picking up.”

“It’s not far,” Zoe called.

The wind whipped around them. Remi moved in next to Sam, reaching down, putting her hand in his. “I think we should go back.”

Sam, agreeing, was just about to suggest it when Zoe suddenly pointed. “There it is. The carving.”

She ran down the hill, then crouched before a massive boulder, brushing her hands across the surface. “I knew it was here.”

“Where’s the cave?” Dimitris asked, picking his way down the hill toward her.

“Just on the other side. I’m sure of it.” Zoe looked back at them, her face filled with excitement. “I knew this was the right place.”

They followed her, eventually reaching the rock she’d pointed out. There was definitely a face carved on the surface. Admittedly, it wasn’t angry like the one Tassos had sketched, but there was no doubt what it was supposed to be.